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[Exalted] Ain’t No Devil
- Location
- [REDACTED]
This looks a lot like the King of the Ring expansion of Infernal Monster Style.
[X] Trust Daji.
What are we going to do, say no?
[X] Trust Daji.
What are we going to do, say no?
- Location
- USA
Hey, minions are a critical component of many boss fights! And, if you're lucky, they'll give extra loot drops when you manage to take them all out.
I appreciate that it's not enough for Ayano to have her disciples all launch suicide attacks to keep Jiro off-balance, she also literally grinds them underfoot herself.
The monks' fanaticism is genuinely terrifying though. If it was just run-of-the-mill zealotry, then they'd be trying to exterminate Jiro on their own initiative, though of course with Ayano as their commander. None of that seems to come across here though; aside from the ones who delivered the ultimatum to Jiro, I don't think any of the monks have spoken a single word or expressed anything at all. Either their dedication to Ayano is so complete that they trust her plan utterly, or, considering the artifacts she's already displayed and that they seem to be acting in flawless coordination despite being on fire, they're magically under her control. Neither of which is particularly nice.
[X] Trust Daji.
Foxkid to the rescue!
TenfoldShields
Lounging on a Hoard of Words
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I'm passing out for the night so I don't really have the remote clarity to do a full Thing on the update today (but I will 'cause it is Good Shit and god I loved it a lot) but this made me kinda...think thoughts and I wanted to get them in some kinda order before I faceplanted in the pillow. So they might be a bit bleary, sue me.
I think that ultimately Ayano is entirely (or at least ostensibly given that the Tamura clan as a whole is affiliated with a straight up, deadass actual fucking Deathlord and she's peripherally aware of it if very carefully not looking directly At It) an orthodox Immaculate. Oh definitely an unpleasant one. Definitely a pretty heartless and cold one. But she (and ultimately, as an aside, this is kinda why I hope we get eyes on Immaculates and general Religiosity who are/which is less shitheel overall) is still very much using their playbook, still very much toeing their line, still very much speaking their verses and quoting their scripture. She's an institution of Empire, and she employs the Immaculate Faith in one of the functions its intended to be used: as a way to enforce "soft" control of the periphery by shaping the language, the culture, what is profane and what is sacred and what is to be brought back to cultivated order and what is to be pulled out by the root. Oh sure she genuinely believes most of it too (and honestly, in the vein I'd say the monk's ritual self-sacrifice in Jiro's execution, as a triumph of faith and flesh over the powers of hell, a vindication of the ascetic and the disciplined over something as banal as an Anathema's stolen might is less of a break from that dogma than what she did with the city, the gods, and the storm) but there's a heavy practical element there as well. The two aren't incompatible.
Devotion through denial and mortification. Paring away what is unnecessary so that you achieve a full actualization of your intended self, your intended role in this life. Being fearless in the face of death. Oh it's grim, and it's ghastly. It's very much the kind of thing you'd see in a cold, distant frontier like Sekigahara where the Dead are closer and the monsters prowl at the door, versus the secure, developed, metropolitan core. But she's not making up shit that isn't there or inordinately twisting what is. Because she is righteous. She is divine.
And again, in that context it's funny imo that the way she's smashing the glass on the gods and having them bring ruin to the city would draw more censure from higher ups in the Immaculate than the kung fu pyre.
I think...the biggest thing, the biggest throughline in this context and what this says the most (to me, I mean, I'm tired so I could v well just be reading into this shit) is that like Sho her central sin is that she's affected by that Tamura nihilism. Infected by it. Shuzen is like this singularity of a person, this bending, this compression of the world around him into one single, perfect, edge. And in the process he strips out all meaning or sense of self-worth from his kin and those around him. He Is The Only Thing That Matters so...who cares? Live it up? Drain the place dry? Party hardy with demons! He's already got everything, why shouldn't you get yours or, y'know, the Sho approach. And then there's the Ayano approach-
Nothing Matters so you have faith free and untethered by such small concerns as "what will this cost me", "what will this do to me", "what will this to people I care about". Nothing matters and in that kinda crystalline, pure, emptiness there's a kind of unpleasant, unsettling, enlightenment. It's all power of the will, the will embodied by the mortal form. The will as expressed through muscle and sinew and bone. The drive and determination to keep moving one step at a time through this empty, meaningless world. An attempt to mirror the lessons Shuzen's imparted, mixed in with Ayano's own desire to be indispensable. Which is just another word for "singular", for "unstoppable".
It's really almost admirable her sincere dedication to it.
Y'know in a deeply fucked up way.
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- Location
- HELL
- Pronouns
- They/It
[X] Trust Daji.
why wouldn't we
why wouldn't we
[X] Trust Daji
Vocalist
Verdant Maiden in Violet
- Location
- By a Cedar Tree
Imagine if we did. So many chapters of character development, Jiro working to untwist himself, to be able to trust people and follow the path of the open hand. Patching up the relationships he's shattered. Until, in his hour of greatest need, when a lightning spewing badass is kicking his ass so fast she can punch him four times simultaneously, a person he's hurt decides to enter the arena and lend their aid - because while poor Jiro has a personality like a bucket of broken glass, he's trying to fix himself and the world, dammit!
Only for our poor fox-enby to hear, "Nah, I'd rather continue to get my ass kicked instead of accepting your help."
It would be hilarious. Unreasonable, painful, but - from a story-structure perspective - hilarious.
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Aureate
hello?
- Location
- Information Team, L-Corporation
but if we do that, we might end up becoming a furry tho
[X] Trust Daji.
Had a rough time, so kinda forgot to vote in thread for a while. Glad to come back to a contentious vote.
Trust the fox-child.
[X] Trust Daji.
Though, ah, jokes aside, it's one of those things where even if the correct choice is blatantly obvious, it still needs to be a choice, yeah? Jiro needs to go; "Yeah, OK, I trust you with my life, something I am genuinely and generally reluctant to do".
Trust the fox-child.
[X] Trust Daji.
Though, ah, jokes aside, it's one of those things where even if the correct choice is blatantly obvious, it still needs to be a choice, yeah? Jiro needs to go; "Yeah, OK, I trust you with my life, something I am genuinely and generally reluctant to do".
- Location
- Vermont
Nah, he got Shuzen incredibly pissed off while beating his son/grandson to death in front of a crowd. It's all natural, and god help us all if he figures out how to shit-talk with magic. As a side-note, that would be a magnificent ebon dragon charm. Piss people off so much they can't fight properly.
I mean, Mocking Murmurs Retort is a social parry that allows you to refute other people's arguments by saying it back to them but making fun of their voice, so that's definitely in-scope for TED.
"And so, this is why Mnemon should be the next Empress."
From the audience; "aNd So ThIs Is WhY mNeMoN sHoUlD bE tHe NeXt EmPreSs."
Everyone laughs, the Mnemon speaker is humiliated in public.
- Location
- Ireland
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I like this, because looking back it wasn't much of a choice. Jiro could either totally ignore what he said to Daji or he could wriggle out of it but both of those are betrayals of what he claimed he wanted, and this was really the only way to go for Jiro as he was when he spoke with Daji through the door. It's a massive, massive step forward for him and I'm super proud of him even if it's going to make it more difficult for him, personally.
And this is another bit I love, because it's something I didn't even consider. In letting the monks guide him up without fighting, he's making sure that Qiangong is fighting less, and in confronting Yanxiu he's ensured that it's gone from a 3 v 1 to a matched 2 v 2. Jiro's dedication to being better and to not being this avatar of vengeance and death that's no better than an animal isn't just good for him but it's also making things better all around, and it's just nice to see that sort of thing rewarded by the narrative instead of Jiro getting punked with absolutely no recourse for trying to be good. Choosing to be better is important and rewarding and it's really nice to see that recognised here.
Well, we all knew that was coming. I like that like, Ayano doesn't even try to parley, doesn't try to talk, doesn't engage with Jiro at all. It was always a trap, nothing more than that, a way for her to get Jiro in a big pileup of her monks and avoid him having the slightest chance at anything else. Jiro, the Anathema from Hell who fused with a demon to wreak bloody vengeance against the Tamura, was the one who was willing to talk and try figure it out without more bloodshed, while Ayano, the abbess, the most holy person in Sekigahara, is the one who used the opportunity to stab him in the back. It really does go to show what sort of horrible effect Shuzen's had on her, how much it's twisted her and made her so brutal.
Just pointing this out because I fucking love Jiro's "1 v 1 me nerd" ability, it's fantastic.
Aaaaaand jeez that's creepy. I like that you balanced it out so that like, this doesn't read as some lowbro "hurr religion bad" thing which it might have ended up being, but it's like...well, Ten put it best, the monks through their faith and flesh are overcoming the stolen powers of hell and working to bring down an unholy beast. It's not that they're brainwashed or stupid or mind controlled, and it's not like Ayano doesn't believe what she's saying. All in all I just like how evocative this whole thing is of the people so devoted to their faith they're willing to literally push through the fires of hell to fight a demon plaguing their land, even if I'm rooting hard for that demon.
Jiro actually secretly has invested in his social charms, it's just that every single one is a permutation of how to piss people off, building on his natural talent for it.
God, I fucking love this whole bit with Jiro shittalking her so hard he gets her to slip up so he can counter her throw with his Isidoros powers and just yank the oar away, it's fantastically Jiro.
oh no ayano has doppelganger for her devil trigger
(this is fucking rad you absolute giant slut i LOVE it)
Daji: GOD, DAD, HAVEN'T YOU EVER WATCHED BLEACH
[X] Trust Daji.
This isn't much of a choice but also it really needed to be a choice, I think. It wouldn't have as much impact if it wasn't Jiro choosing it. If Jiro just did it because the narration had him do it with no input or anything then I don't think it'd be as meaningful. Part of the beautiful things about quests is how you can have moments like this, or like Rostam with Karna and the sword in HO. Moments where there is a right answer that you're pretty certain is going to be picked and fits most with the character development, but making the choice an actual choice gives the readers more investment in it, makes it feel more genuine because it's being done in the same way that all the other choices have been before. I'd have half a mind to compare it to that one part of Heaven's Feel with the three Save Ilya boxes, honestly.
In a nutshell, I think it's really great that this isn't framed as a natural consequence of Jiro's character development, but still an actual choice he has to make and has to take the final step for. It's really really neat and a good way of taking advantage of the natural quirks of a quest. Really stellar stuff, Zerb.
Imrix
Periodically Malevolent QM
/me whispering in zerban's ear
weeeeb
Yeah that was always gonna be how it went, but we had to make the offer. It says something though that, yeah, she doesn't even try to dress it up.
Ooooh hey, I remember when I pointed Zerban at this sort of Charmtech. Revlid's old King of the Ring tree, rock.
oookay that's uh, that's new. I know there's dialogue later about how they do this because they're just that devoted but like, I don't quite buy that this is all natural. This feels more like zombie puppeteering or something. I'm not sure if that's more or less spooky than the kind of sheer devotion for the whole crowd to do this.
Interesting. So, yes, they do know what he is, and not everybody is on board with it, but something forced it through. Shuzen? What to make of that...
And the wages of self-improvement are the cavalry arriving in the nick of time. Kind of expected, but no less gratifying for it. Lovely
[X] Trust Daji.
why would we do literally anything else, i mean really
TenfoldShields
Lounging on a Hoard of Words
- Pronouns
- He/Him
It's something that's an interesting, recurring aesthetic in association with Tamura stuff and the Shogunate-era constructions that predate them. The brutal starkness and severity, the constant low key implications of unyielding strength, of unimpeachable purity, of emptiness and serenity. I mean on some level it's just an aesthetic choice, but aesthetics say a lot I think, convey a lot about a group whether it's onscreen or on the page. And there's...something there I think. In that the Tamura's military citadels, their cities, their highest and holiest places are all so...barren, so empty. And it's like- while the Immaculate Order is aniconic as a general rule there's all kinds of points on that weird twisty mobius spectrum. And all kinds of different heresies that can be plausibly portrayed under the very reasonable IC cover of "well I'm not portraying the Dragons directly". Everything from stylized, geometric designs to other symbolic representations, to just full on statues of notable DB's that get worshipped in their stead. And it says something, imo, that rather than embracing that the Tamura have cleaved hard and cleaved consistently to that stark absence. That void.
We know that the Garden's been entangled with the family for generation upon generation, we know that the Garden's been entangled with the satrapy for, possibly, as long as the Tamura have been here (and we don't even know how long they have). I wonder if this isn't that knowledge, that perception kinda creeping in. Something just visible at the corner of the eye, the family's long, long shadow (or the Garden's, maybe) stretching over the history of this place. That silence, that stillness, that's still very obviously, palpably, waiting. That "just because you're alone, doesn't mean that nobody else is here".
This too is in that vein: the Tamura, or at least the two we've gotten to know onscreen and the implications surrounding the Big One (with Kyo as a kinda weird squiggly question mark off to the side), are very very good at making tools of people. Not even in a brain washing sense, a strap-you-into-the-machine-and-make-you-tell-me-how-many-lights-there-are sense. But rather that they're all very very good at stripping people down to what they think is their essential utility. Maneuvering people into a position where you can pull their arm and the Desired Outcome will come rolling out of their mouths every time. 'Cause that's what they've learned, that's what they're taught. The only way to survive is by being useful, the only value in this world is what you can do. Can you add to the ambiance of a good time? Can you fight and kill and crush the enemy? Can you walk the path of enlightenment behind me?
Can you die when I demand you to?
It's utilitarian shittiness with all the dials cranked to the max and I love it as, honestly, a kind of counterpoint to the more common Elaborate Decadence you see in villains like these.
It's very uh-
"For who now is your father if it is not me? Who gave you the will to live? I am the wellspring from which you flow, when I am gone you will have never been. What will your world be without me? My son."
[X] Trust Daji.
Go go profound shitkid powers.
Might as well vote.
[X] Trust Daji.
[X] Trust Daji.
- Location
- Texas, USA
First of all, sorry Illya and the lingering remnants of Jiro's previous tendency to trust no one and rely only on himself.
Thank you so much for the quality character development food. Not to be patronizing, but I'm proud of Jiro. This can't have been easy after most of a life fighting to win and survive first and foremost, which is why it was only one of several possible options for the character to take. I certainly won't deny that it might have been more efficient going in guns blazing, especially considering how the fight initially starts, but this isn't about effectiveness or potency. It's about healing and moving on from the wounded animal lashing out he's so often been forced to be. It might hinder him ever so slightly in the short term, but that sort of approach will help him in the long term infinitely more. He's come very very far, and again the nuance and thematically pleasing growth of his character development has been a delight to see. There's always (I mean not like always always but you get what I mean) a second chance, to take, and to give.
Though of course we all know this piece of shit was never going to accept that second chance. It's for the best. Forgiveness might have denied us a rad as fuck Zerb written boss fight.
Naturally the first component of a rad as fuck Zerb written boss fight is said boss having a strong character and memorable one liners that speak to the terrifying extent of their conviction, and Ayano has had those in spades since her introduction of keeping literal gods in line. A foe with surety of purpose and faith is terrifying, and you convey fantastically the fanaticism of those who consider themselves utterly righteous.
The second component of a rad as fuck Zerb written boss fight is the foe having a well described vividly depicted fighting style whose specifics are thoroughly well conveyed, thematically pleasing, and cool and anime as fuck. Her constant elegant speedy flowing series of moves would probably be beautiful to watch, but then you remember she's using the stolen weapon of a god she subjugated and also there are fucking flaming monks everywhere, whose sacrifices she has zero qualms about because she's a fucker immensely self assured of her righteousness, so really the overall effect is terrifying. Being on the receiving end of this almost artful display becomes unnerving as hell. Also you are terrifyingly good at conveying what it's like to be trapped by a bunch of monks burning to death. I am done a frighten.
Third component of a rad as fuck Zerb written fight, the thematics and the character interactions and the interplay and the changes in the flow of the fight as it goes on, because a fight isn't just a static exchange of abilities where both characters are emotionally unaffected throughout. Scary though it is to fight someone completely assured of her righteousness, it makes it all the more deeply satisfying and also a different brand of scary when the cracks in that armor begin to show. Of course this arrogant spoiled dumbass can't take insults, so used to she is to simply forcing everyone around her into submission through her position or power. Get absolutely fucked. Of course, it's also a testament to how the venerable patriarch of this hell family is such an all consuming presence that basically all of the family can't help but be compared to him, have complexes in regards to him, fear him. Thoroughly gripping toxic hell family. Ayano really is a compelling villain. That's often usually the case for ones that are sympathetic or redeemable, but you pulled off fantastically making a shithead who deserves to die but regardless has her nuance and pathos.
oh my fucking god it's a speed clone I fucking love you Zerb
anywho
[X] Trust Daji.
thank you for pandering to me specifically with pivotal Daji, nb fox fans be winning
Thank you so much for the quality character development food. Not to be patronizing, but I'm proud of Jiro. This can't have been easy after most of a life fighting to win and survive first and foremost, which is why it was only one of several possible options for the character to take. I certainly won't deny that it might have been more efficient going in guns blazing, especially considering how the fight initially starts, but this isn't about effectiveness or potency. It's about healing and moving on from the wounded animal lashing out he's so often been forced to be. It might hinder him ever so slightly in the short term, but that sort of approach will help him in the long term infinitely more. He's come very very far, and again the nuance and thematically pleasing growth of his character development has been a delight to see. There's always (I mean not like always always but you get what I mean) a second chance, to take, and to give.
Though of course we all know this piece of shit was never going to accept that second chance. It's for the best. Forgiveness might have denied us a rad as fuck Zerb written boss fight.
Naturally the first component of a rad as fuck Zerb written boss fight is said boss having a strong character and memorable one liners that speak to the terrifying extent of their conviction, and Ayano has had those in spades since her introduction of keeping literal gods in line. A foe with surety of purpose and faith is terrifying, and you convey fantastically the fanaticism of those who consider themselves utterly righteous.
The second component of a rad as fuck Zerb written boss fight is the foe having a well described vividly depicted fighting style whose specifics are thoroughly well conveyed, thematically pleasing, and cool and anime as fuck. Her constant elegant speedy flowing series of moves would probably be beautiful to watch, but then you remember she's using the stolen weapon of a god she subjugated and also there are fucking flaming monks everywhere, whose sacrifices she has zero qualms about because she's a fucker immensely self assured of her righteousness, so really the overall effect is terrifying. Being on the receiving end of this almost artful display becomes unnerving as hell. Also you are terrifyingly good at conveying what it's like to be trapped by a bunch of monks burning to death. I am done a frighten.
Third component of a rad as fuck Zerb written fight, the thematics and the character interactions and the interplay and the changes in the flow of the fight as it goes on, because a fight isn't just a static exchange of abilities where both characters are emotionally unaffected throughout. Scary though it is to fight someone completely assured of her righteousness, it makes it all the more deeply satisfying and also a different brand of scary when the cracks in that armor begin to show. Of course this arrogant spoiled dumbass can't take insults, so used to she is to simply forcing everyone around her into submission through her position or power. Get absolutely fucked. Of course, it's also a testament to how the venerable patriarch of this hell family is such an all consuming presence that basically all of the family can't help but be compared to him, have complexes in regards to him, fear him. Thoroughly gripping toxic hell family. Ayano really is a compelling villain. That's often usually the case for ones that are sympathetic or redeemable, but you pulled off fantastically making a shithead who deserves to die but regardless has her nuance and pathos.
oh my fucking god it's a speed clone I fucking love you Zerb
anywho
[X] Trust Daji.
thank you for pandering to me specifically with pivotal Daji, nb fox fans be winning
- Location
- my house
What is this?